BWG's 2,200 employees, including 519 full-time staff in the Republic, stand to benefit from the €220 million management buyout of the company.

Management, backed by British private-equity firm Electra Partners Europe, has agreed the purchase of BWG, owner of the Spar and Mace franchises in the Republic, from French drinks group Pernod Ricard.

Electra will take a majority stake in the new holding company formed for the purpose of acquiring BWG while management, led by chief executive Mr Leo Crawford, will have a small shareholding.

As part of the deal, Electra is also buying Newhill Limited, which owns 115 Spar stores in the Republic, mainly in the Dublin area. Newhill will continue to trade as an independent business, with Mr John Clohisey remaining as chief executive.

But Mr Clohisey, along with other shareholders of Newhill Limited, will take a minority stake in the new holding company and will also join its board as a non-executive.

The deal is subject to regulatory approval by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment but is expected to be completed by the end of August.

If it gets clearance, staff are in line for a payout, although how much they will get was not clear last night.

"An agreement was made with staff a year ago that a payment would be made to them following the closure of the transaction and payment in full," a Pernod Ricard spokesman said.

The acquisition will be 30 per cent equity-financed with the rest funded through senior debt facilities.

BWG, which reported earnings before interest and tax of €31 million on turnover of €2.1 billion, includes five businesses. Aside from the Spar and Mace businesses in the Republic, it has the Mace rights in Northern Ireland.

It also owns British alcohol wholesaler Bargain Booze and Appleby Westward, the Spar wholesaler in the southwest of England, as well as a wholesale arm that delivers to independent retailers.

Mr Crawford said BWG saw good growth opportunities for Mace and was keen to grow the Spar franchise, which has expanded by 25 to 30 stores a year over the past five years.

It also wanted to grow Bargain Booze, which has expanded from 150 to 300 stores in the two years since it was acquired.